Cannabis and ancient Tao rituals

Taoism is a very common religion in China, and cannabis holds a special place in ancient Tao rituals. It was commonly used in Tao rituals with another common herb – ginseng to foresee the future. Taoism believed cannabis could cast its spirit forward in time and reveal valuable secrets about what the future holds. A 5^th century BCE text mentioned that if one would consume cannabis with ginseng, it would give the person preternatural knowledge of events & occurrences that would take place in the future. Another 6^th century text claims that if one desires to command demonic apparitions to appear before himself/herself, he or she simply needs to constantly consume the inflorescence of the hemp plant.

Ancient Taoist texts also mention the use of cannabis in specialized ritual incense burners called censers. In line with the core Tao beliefs, cannabis was used to tune out selfish desires and bring in feelings of well-being. In fact, Taoism is perhaps the only religion in the world that has personified cannabis to a deity. Cannabis was portrayed as a Goddess, called ‘Ma Ku’, meaning ‘Miss Hemp’ or ‘Hemp Lady’ – a beautiful fair goddess with bird’s claws for feet. She was commonly associated with Mao Shan meditation techniques. Her portrayals often used imagery of time distortions.

Taoism restricted the consumption of cannabis to religious occasions and only select people were permitted to consume it. However, with time, Confucianism began gaining popularity in China, and people embraced it as their new religion, leaving Taoism behind. By extension, the importance of cannabis also went down.

The journey from China to the world

In ancient and medieval history, cannabis had been considered a very helpful and beneficial drug, with historical records of its usage by the Chinese, to the Vikings and Germanic tribes to relieve pain and treat a range of ailments. China and Siberia are considered to be the seat of cannabis usage in those times, and it is believed that it was from here that the famed plant spread to the world.

The farmers along the coast of China, took the plant along with them to Korea in around 2000 BCE. From China, the cannabis also made its way to India somewhere between 2000 to 1000 BCE, then ruled by the Aryans where it finds mentions in ancient poetry and prose. The Synthians – a nomadic Indo-European community is believed to have introduced hemp to the Middle East, as well as to Southeastern Russia & Ukraine. The Germanic tribes brought the drug to their homeland – Germany, while Anglo-Saxon troupes led to the spread of hemp to Britain. Historical evidence discovered from Viking ships has indicated the presence of hemp in the remains, indicating that the Vikings took cannabis along with them as they sailed to shores far and wide. Traders and troupes were the primary sources for hemp’s spread to regions around the world and archeological evidence says it was found in wooden artifacts buried with people who were living along the renowned Silk Route. They took it along with them to Africa and South America, from where it was eventually carried northward to the North Americas. It is believed that Mexican immigrants brought cannabis along with them from their homeland as they were escaping the Mexican Revolution of 1910-11.

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